Rise Above essay winner: "I have been blessed with the opportunity to lift others up"

05/20/19 03:37:pm

Rogers team members were invited to submit statements and stories about what it means to help patients rise above the challenges of mental illness and how they and their colleagues help Rogers set the standard for behavioral health care.

The following essay was written by Tammy Madrigrano, APSW, who was selected as one of our winners:

tammy rise above essay (1).jpg Rising above is riding that wave of fear and doubt and knowing that there is shore beyond the waves. It is throwing a life preserver when someone is drowning in trauma, anxiety, and depression. It is comforting them and allowing them to be vulnerable… finding peace and refuge in strangers who know nothing about them yet trusting them with their deepest, darkest secrets. It is impactful. It is soulful. It is necessary. IT IS WHAT WE DO!

I have been blessed with the opportunity to lift others up when they are unable to do so themselves. It has been a rewarding experience to validate others and show them that they are more than what they have been or what others tell them. DBT has been pivotal in allowing clients to see that they do have options and choices and that by making those options and choices POSITIVE that they will have a life worth living. It has been a growing experience for all of us here over the last few years as we adjust to change of coworkers, programs, census, and training. The transition has been effortless due to management, leaders, and coworkers validating and positively affirming each other and doing whatever it takes to make it work.

Daymaker allows us to do that as well as giving us fun things to work towards. This organization practices what it preaches and gives back to its employees validating us and all the hard work we do. I am so proud to say I work here and am part of such a movement that is gaining national recognition for all the hard work that we do daily to lift others up and help them Rise above their past and create a new, healthy future. The smile and hope of success when a client beams to you their sober time, the confirmation when a patient has a long length of time without self-harming, the letters we get validating the impact we have had on families and lives, the visits from clients who are still alive and successful is profound. I am humbled and honored to share this journey with them. We are all survivors!! We can make the road to healing that much easier by pointing out the good in others and showing them they too can Rise Above!